Monster
by Snavej
Summary: So Mai Taniyama's first kiss from a boy was on the forehead, completely out of the blue and from a guy that didn't wash all the time. But hey, it was still her first kiss! That was exciting, right? [High School AU, caution: abuse]
1. Chapter 1

"Masako!" Mai hissed as she slid into the seat next to her best friend. "Masako!"

"What?"

"You'll never guess what just happened?"

"If this is your reason as to why you're late for Drama Club, I want to hear it. I had to make up an excuse to Miss Mori. She's just gone to get the new scripts."

"What did you say?"

"That you're on your period and needed to go to the Matron for a tampon," Masako said, straight-faced.

"You what?" Mai gaped. "You said that in front of everyone? In front of the boys?!"

Masako burst out laughing.

"You're so easy to wind up. Nah, I told her you forgot something in your locker. So why were you really late?"

"You are such a bitch," Mai complained, but she smiled.

"You love me really," Masako said. "Why were you really late?"

"You know Oliver Griffiths?"

"Sound and lighting guy? Works with Mr Lin?" Masako asked. "Gene's twin?"

"Yeah, him. I was about to come in when he called me over. I thought he wanted help with the equipment or something. But he didn't!"

"What did he want?" Masako frowned. "He wasn't being creepy, was he?"

"No, he told me that he thought I was nice and then he kissed me on the forehead. And then he just walked off."

"What?"

"He kissed me!" Mai pressed. "No one has ever kissed me before!"

"And you're… Happy about this?" Masako asked, unsure.

"Well, I don't know. It's kind of nice to know someone wants to kiss me."

"I think it's weird. Has he ever spoken to you before?"

"Not really. But he's cute and he's nice so…"

"Oh Mai, you can do much better than that creep," Masako insisted. "Half the time, he doesn't even wash."

"That's not true…"

"Okay fine, maybe it was just once or twice. But seriously. You can do better."

"You're such a spoilsport," Mai muttered. "Honestly, I thought you'd be happy for me."

"Happy that some loser likes you? Sure, thrilled. But I'm not giving you my blessing to anyone less than an angel. You deserve the best."

Mai rolled her eyes, but before she could respond, Miss Mori returned with a stack of photocopied scripts.

"Right, everyone, settle down. We're going to be doing Cinderella for this year's pantomime."

The Drama Club members immediately buzzed with excitement and students began laying claims to parts.

"I want to be the Prince," Yasuhara shouted above the buzz. "I'm the best looking, Miss Mori, you've got to give me the part—"

"That's questionable," Masako interrupted. "Besides, in Panto, the male lead parts can be played by women and quite frankly, I think it would do wonderfully for LGBT+ representation to have a Princess woo Cinderella—"

"You just want an excuse to kiss a pretty girl on stage—"

"Maybe I do, jealous that I've got a better chance?"

The rest of the Drama Club 'ooh'ed. Miss Mori rolled her eyes.

"Okay, quieten down you two," she said. "I just want to do a read through this week. Let's have Masako as the Fairy Godmother, Gene as Prince Charming, Mai as Cinderella, Yasuhara as Dumpling the horse—"

"Aww, Miss!"

"Would you like to be the front end or the back end of the horse?"

Yasuhara groaned for effect. The Club laughed at his expensive and Miss Mori continued to give out parts.

Meanwhile, at the back of the classroom, Oliver slipped into the room and sat down next to Mr Lin.

"What are we stuck with?" he asked in a low voice.

"Cinderella. Mori has already given the costume people a list as long as her arm. She wants West End level costumes for Cinderella. You know the type, where they spin and it transforms from rags into a ball gown."

"How's the sound and lighting looking though?"

"Doable. She wants us to add some special effects to our repertoire, but nothing crazy. I did have to talk her down from some ideas last week. She went to see the Cursed Child a month ago and has got all caught up on how they did the magic."

"Where does she get the budget for this crap…?" Oliver muttered under his breath.

"She adds to it from her own salary. Her parents are so wealthy she does not need to work. She does this stuff for fun," Mr Lin revealed. Oliver shook his head in amazement. "But why are you late? It's not like you."

Mr Lin pulled a slightly bent cereal bar from his pocket and handed it over. Oliver shoved it in his bag with a nod of thanks.

"I— I got caught up," Oliver said, his voice hollow. "I had to help Malcolm out."

"Malcolm? I didn't think you were friends with him."

"I'm not. But he and his friends needed some assistance."

"Oliver, are they—"

"No. It's fine."

"Okay! Let's start!" Miss Mori called over the hubbub. "Act one, scene one, we'll skip the musical numbers for now. I've got to speak to Mr Takigawa about that… John, start."

"Hello everyone, my name is Buttons, but I bet you all guessed that! Who here has been to a panto before?" John asked. The rest of the club reacted as expected. "I'm sorry, I must be going a bit deaf! I didn't hear anything at all!" He raised his voice and continued, "I said, who here has been to a panto before?"

Oliver tuned out. He began to read ahead. He only got a few pages in when he felt someone's eyes on him. Glancing up, he expected his brother. But it wasn't. It was that girl.

He looked straight back down at the page without a change in his facial expression. Damn that Malcolm.

The read-through continued. They only just finished act one before everyone had to go home.

"We'll pick up with act two tomorrow, and I'll be running auditions on Friday," Miss Mori said. "Mr Lin, I'd like a word with you before you head off."

"Good luck," Oliver muttered as he collected up his bag.

Gene caught up with him and they left the drama studio together.

"You know," Gene said, "it's a shame you don't want to act, we'd make a great pair of ugly sisters."

"That's the role you want?" Oliver asked, eyebrow raised.

"Well half the guys here don't have the balls to wear a dress, I reckon me and Yasuhara will end up doing it."

Oliver nodded, deep in thought.

"Do you not want me to be—"

"Pick who you want," Oliver muttered. "Let's head to the library."

"But I'm hungry."

Oliver shoved his hand into his bag and found the cereal bar that Mr Lin had given him. He thrust it into his twin's hands and Gene smiled.

"Thanks."

"He won't have gotten food in," Oliver said. "But he said he was going out tonight so maybe we could get something… I found some loose change in the loos earlier. Someone must have dropped it."

"Yeah? Could we get one of those microwave meals?"

Oliver nodded. They were just out of the school now. Students from the Drama Club were spilling in every direction...

"I think Mai might have a crush on you," Gene said. "I noticed her staring."

Oliver didn't say anything.

"Do you think he's forgotten about that cereal at the back of the cupboard?"

"Maybe," Oliver mumbled. "I'm not sure it's worth it though."

Gene offered a bit of the cereal bar to Oliver, who refused. He ate the last of the bar, then pocketed the wrapper.

"Bin that."

"I will."

"No, bin it now, there's one over there."

Gene sighed but did not argue. He binned the wrapper.

* * *

Mai frowned as Facebook opened. Top of her newsfeed was a video of herself. It was a video of Oliver kissing her on the top of her head. It was captioned 'Nerd finally kisses a girl'.

A chat window popped up.

 **Masako: You seen it yet?**

 **Mai: Yeah, wtf?**

 **Masako: Did you know you were being filmed?**

 **Mai: No… Who posted it?**

 **Masako: It's anonymous. I told you he was a creep.**

 **Mai: Doesn't mean it was him...**

 **Masako: I don't have his number. Does he even have FB?**

 **Mai: No idea… I don't think so? I don't have him as a friend.**

Mai scrolled down the comments on the videos.

 _ **Doesn't even have the balls to kiss her properly?**_

 _ **Poor girl - who is she?**_

 _ **Only time he'll get female contact - ha!**_

She clicked away from it, not wanting to read any more.

 **Mai: Did you read the comments?**

 **Masako: Yeah, people are dumb.**

Mai sighed and pulled out her homework. She started working through the French grammar exercises she had been set earlier that day. Mai didn't find them too difficult, she was reasonably happy with adverbs.

She moved onto her Maths homework but did not get very far.

"I'm home!" a booming male voice called through the house. "Blimey does Madoka go on."

Mai downed her pencil and headed down to the kitchen. Mr Takigawa, a.k.a Monk, a.k.a her guardian, was flicking the kettle on.

"You would not believe what she wants," he went on. "She acts as if I have a full blown orchestra at my command. Our lot are good, but blimey, she acts as if they're all at a national level. We might have one or two players with that sort of potential "

"Has she decided on songs yet?" Mai asked, slipping into a breakfast bar chair.

"She's set on some from The Greatest Showman."

Mai grinned.

"I thought you'd be happy about that," Monk said. "She does want you to try out for Cinderella though. And she's pretty set on Masako being the Fairy Godmother."

"Oh, I wanted Masako to be the evil stepmother."

Monk laughed.

"Yes, Masako could play that one well too. I think she wanted Naoko Kuroda for the evil stepmother, but we'll see."

"Ooh, yeah, I could see that," Mai mused. "What's for tea?"

"Ayako said we had everything for bolognese," Monk said, opening the fridge. "And I think she's right…"

"There's a first time for everything," Mai mumbled.

"Oi, cheeky." The kettle boiled. "And for your cheek, you can make me a cup of tea. I'll start on the food."

Mai jumped up and complied.

"When's she going to be home?"

"Ayako? Who knows, she said she had a late shift today. She mentioned one of her patients being stubborn."

Monk emptied a pack of mince into a large pan and stabbed it several times with a wooden spoon to break it up.

"Stubborn?"

"Yeah, the baby is refusing to be born," Monk said. "She said this morning that this kid was going to be born today whether they liked it or not…"

"I mean, if I was a baby, I would be terrified into being born by Ayako so…"

Monk laughed again. He chopped some vegetables and threw them into the pan on the hob.

"Mai, you… You like Ayako, right?"

"Of course I do," Mai said.

"Because I've been thinking—"

"Yes."

"What?"

"Yes, marry her."

"How did—"

Mai rolled her eyes.

"You're so obvious."

"Am I?" Monk asked.

"Yes, you are." Mai poured the tea and mixed in milk and sugar. "Just don't propose in public, she'd hate that."

"You mean I'm not allowed to embarrass her by serenading her?" Monk asked in mock offence.

"No. Definitely not that."

"And if she says yes… Would you want her to adopt you properly too?"

Mai could hear the tentative tone in his voice and wondered how long he'd been worrying about this.

"Ooh, then she wouldn't be my sort of evil stepmother…"

"No, but if something happened to me, she'd be able to take care of you without any legal issues."

Mai shrugged.

"I'm not she'd want to, it would make her feel very old to have a 15-year-old daughter…"

"Good, then she can feel as old as I do. Are you sure you're okay with it? I know you didn't get on with her at first and I don't want you to feel—"

"Seriously, Monk, it's fine! We didn't get on at first because you were giving me a load of attention because you were freaking out about looking after a kid. But we're good now. The household has reached equilibrium or something." Mai shrugged. "So propose to her before she thinks you don't want her."

Monk smiled.

"You've grown up a lot, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, old man."

Mai put the kettle on again for the pasta.

"Talking of growing up," Monk went on, his voice more serious now. "I saw something interesting today too. On Facebook. On that anonymous school posting page thing."

Mai groaned.

"Want to tell me about that?"

"There's nothing to tell! I don't even know why there was a video of it!" Mai protested.

"Which twin was it?"

"Oliver," Mai mumbled. "He was being really sweet and—"

"Those comments on that video were not nice though." Mai looked around and saw that Monk was frowning. "Do you know if he knew he was being filmed?"

"I… I don't. I don't even have his number to ask him."

"Hmm." Monk pursed his lips. "I'm not happy about that."

"That I don't have his number?"

"Well, that too. But I don't like you were filmed without your permission. He's a good kid; he's as cheeky as you are."

Mai scoffed.

"No, he's not, he's quiet and—"

"Witty. He gets quips in, just a lot more subtly than you do."

"Are you—"

"I'm just saying, I would potentially give you two my blessing."

"Eugh, you're the worst. I don't need your blessing for anything," Mai said. "And he didn't even talk to me after or at Drama Club or anything."

Monk frowned.

"Maybe you should talk to him. He's always been a bit reserved. But Lin thinks he's a good kid. His mother died not long before yours."

"What?" Mai gaped. "Really?"

"Yeah. She had been sick for a while if I remember rightly."

"Oh…"

* * *

The microwave pinged. Gene sprang into action, opening it and pulling the plastic tub containing the microwave meal onto a plate. He left the contents in the tub, however, and used the plate to transport their dinner from the microwave to the table. Oliver grabbed two forks and passed one over to his twin.

They ate the entire thing in less than two minutes.

"I'll wash up," Oliver said. "Hide the rubbish in our room. We can get rid of it at school tomorrow."

Gene dashed off with the plastic tub, the film lid and the cardboard outer. They had a secret bin under their bunk bed. Oliver, meanwhile, washed and dried the cutlery and the plate. He put them away and picked up his school bag, knowing he'd be better off in his room.

Before he could leave the open plan living space, the front door opened.

"Ah, you're home," a gravelly voice said.

Oliver spun around to see his father, Jeffery, and some woman hooked on his arm.

"Aww," the woman simpered. "This is one of your sons, right? He's so cute."

"Introduce yourself, boy."

"Hi, I'm Oliver," he said mechanically, forcing a smile to his face.

"Where's your brother?"

As if on cue, Gene appeared in the doorway.

"Oh, hi, I'm Gene," he said, holding his hand out to the woman.

"Oh you're so polite," she said, smiling and shaking his hand.

"Now, I'm sure you boys have some homework or something to do, don't you?" Jeffery asked.

"Yes."

"Why don't you do that in your room."

"Yes, Dad."

Both twins scarpered.

Once safe in their room, Oliver sat cross-legged on his bed and pulled out his homework. Gene climbed up onto the top bunk and did likewise. They worked in silence, breathing through their mouths and listening.

A high pitched laugh echoed through the house.

"I'm sure that's not the only thing she'll be faking today," Gene whispered.

"Shut up," Oliver muttered.

"Why? He can't hear—"

"Just… Please?"

Another high pitched laugh.

"Is it true you kissed Mai Taniyama?"

Oliver rolled his eyes.

"It… Yes, I did."

"Why? I didn't know you liked her."

"I don't. I was a dare."

"Oh."

A high pitched giggle followed by some guffawing.

"Since when did you do dares?"

Oliver did not reply.

"Noll?"

"Shut up."

Gene shut up.

The sound of fumbling humans reached their ears.

"That was quick."

"Please—"

"I'll be quiet."

Oliver closed his eyes. He could hear his father and his date moving around the house, in the general direction of his father's bedroom.

"Does Mai know it was a dare?" Gene murmured.

Oliver opened his mouth to tell him to shut up again, but a bang silenced him. Something — or someone more like — had hit the door. Oliver held his breath. Giggles erupted. She wasn't hurt. Oliver relaxed.

"Come on," his father growled, just outside their room.

The sounds faded as they moved down the corridor.

"No, she doesn't," Oliver whispered back.

"That's not very nice, Noll. Don't lead her on like that."

Oliver gritted his teeth and put his head in his hands, glad his brother could not see him.

"I'll apologise tomorrow."

"Please do, she's too nice for that…"

* * *

"I thought you're a teacher," Mai complained.

"Mai, I teach Music, not Maths," Monk said.

"But you said you did Maths at A-level! This is only GCSE!"

"I did," Monk said, picking up the homework sheet again. "But trigonometry is witchcraft and—"

"Maybe we should ask Ayako."

A noise made them both look around. But it was just the catflap.

"I thought that was her for a moment," Mai whispered.

"Oh Luna, do you have to bring in mice?" Monk groaned. He let the homework sheet fall to the table and stood up. "You wretched animal—"

"She's not wretched!" Mai said. "She's a brilliant hunter and she thinks you can't feed yourself."

Luna dropped the half-dead mouse by Monk's feel and purred up at him.

"I think she is tormenting me," Monk muttered.

He reached for some kitchen roll and tore a square off. Luna left her catch and sidled her way over to Mai, who picked her up and stroked her.

"Who's a good kitty, hmm?" she murmured.

Monk picked up the mouse in the kitchen roll and binned it.

"That cat is a menace."

"She's lovely."

"I think you should ask someone else for Maths help," Monk admitted. "I'm too rusty to be of any use on it."

"Like who? Masako hates Maths and—"

"Why don't you ask young Mr Griffiths?"

"Oh my god, will you give it a rest about him? Why don't you date him—"

"I just thought it would be a good opportunity for you to talk to him," Monk said, hands in the air.

"You're the worst." Mai packed up her school stuff and Monk ruffled her hair. "Eugh! Don't do that."

"Aww kid, you love me really."

"You just want to embarrass me."

"Maybe I do."

"Git." Mai grinned. "I'm gonna go and watch some Netflix before bed. Goodnight"

"Goodnight, Mai. Don't stay up too late."

"I won't."

She headed up to her room with Luna following in her wake. After getting ready for bed, Mai put on an episode of Brooklyn 99. Luna jumped up onto the bed and curled up beside her.

Her mind drifted back to the trigonometry homework. Maybe asking Oliver wouldn't be such a bad idea.

* * *

 **Author's note: So this story has some scene's that go in the "made me feel icky writing it" list... The other thing on that list was rape so... Yeah, this story is not nice and I have no idea why I decided to write it? But oh well, it's here now!**


	2. Chapter 2

As she had yet to think of a better idea by the following lunchtime, she found Oliver in the canteen. He was sat alone in the corner, eating a cereal bar and reading a book.

"Is that all you've got for lunch?" she asked.

He looked up.

"Oh."

"Oh?" she prompted. "Did you forget the rest? I can buy you something if you—"

"Yesterday was a dare," he blurted. "I didn't want to do it but they dared me."

Her face fell.

"Oh."

"I should not have—"

"Who dared you?" Mai asked, stony-faced.

"Malcolm. And his associates."

She grimaced.

"Explains a lot. I'm sorry he made you do that," she said.

"I should have said something."

"Did you know they filmed it?"

"What?"

"They filmed it and put it on Facebook."

"I don't use Facebook," Oliver said.

"I guessed. I couldn't find you on it," Mai said. "They weren't very nice about you in the comments. I'll report it."

"No. Don't. It's fine."

Mai frowned, but let it go.

"I… Mon— Mr Takigawa said you're good at Maths," she went on. "I was wondering if you'd be willing to tutor me. He's awful and I'm really struggling with trigonometry…"

"Tutor you?"

"Yeah, after Drama Club today if you're free?" she asked hopefully. "I can't pay you, but I can make you dinner."

"Mr Takigawa told you this?" Oliver's brows furrowed.

"Yeah, he's my guardian," Mai explained.

"I can't."

"Oh."

"I'm supposed to be hanging out with my brother, that—"

"He could come too?" Mai suggested.

Oliver narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly.

"And… And you'll feed him too?"

"Of course," Mai scoffed. "I wouldn't invite you both around and then only feed you, I'm not a monster."

"I…"

"Think about it? Please? Ask Gene if he wants to come and let me know at Drama Club, yeah? You don't have to, I'd just really appreciate your help if you can."

Mai sent him a quick smile and then left the canteen.

Oliver watched her go, then returned his attention to his book. Or at least, he tried to.

Gene sat down opposite him a few minutes later and waved a hand in front of his face.

"Noll?"

"I told Mai it was a dare," he said quickly. "She was fine with it. Said Malcolm filmed it and put it on Facebook."

"Oh."

"Yeah. She offered to report it but I told her not to."

"Why—"

"She also invited us around to her house this evening. She needs Maths help, that's why. Not because she likes us, but she said she'd cook for us both."

Gene's eyes widened.

"You said 'yes', right?"

"She said I should ask you first and tell her at Drama Club."

"Please can we go?" Gene asked.

Oliver ignored the question.

"She noticed I didn't have a proper lunch."

Gene frowned and bit his lip.

"What did you say?"

"I ignored the question."

"Great, so she's going to think you're rude."

"Do you want to go? I'll teach her the Maths," Oliver said. "You could just do your homework or something."

"Yes," Gene said with a smile.

"I'll tell her later then. She lives with Mr Takigawa."

"Really?"

"Yeah, or at least, that's what she implied. He's her guardian or something."

"Oh great, I like him," Gene said. "He's nice…"

"Yeah…"

* * *

Mai bounded up to the twins after the end of the Drama Club read through.

"So?" she prompted.

"You sure it's okay with—" Gene began.

"Yes, it's was Monk— Mr Takigawa's idea," Mai said. "I spoke to him earlier, he even offered to give you both a lift back if you want it. Depends how late you stay, I guess. So that's a 'yes', right?"

Gene nodded. Mai beamed at them both and lead the way out of the school, waving goodbye to various friends. The twins followed, sharing a glance.

Once away from the school, Gene spoke up.

"So what's for dinner?"

Oliver elbowed him.

Mai, however, did not seem bothered by the question.

"I was thinking carbonara, I haven't had it in a while and it's easy to cook. Well, I say carbonara, I really mean cheesy pasta with bacon and stuff."

"I love bacon," Gene said.

"Well that works out okay then," Mai said, smiling.

When they arrived back at her house, she let them in and kicked off her school shoes.

"You can take your shoes off if you want, or not," she shrugged, "Monk isn't all that bothered really."

The twins pushed off their shoes and left them next to Mai's discarded ones.

"Do you want anything to drink? Or eat? I wasn't planning on cooking until later, unless you're really hungry now?" she asked, turning around to face them.

Neither twin said a word.

"Okay, um, how about a cup of tea? I'm making one for myself so..."

Oliver nodded.

"Yes, please," Gene said.

"Great," Mai said. "If you wanna spread out on the dining table that's fine."

She bustled into the kitchen and began making tea while the twins tentatively sat down and got out their homework. She returned a few minutes later with a tray laden with tea and a packet of biscuits.

"I found these in the cupboard," she said, opening them and taking a digestive. "Help yourself. Do you want milk or sugar or anything?"

Gene nodded.

"Which is it? Milk? Sugar? Or both?"

"Milk and two sugars please," he said and then gestured to the biscuits. "Are you sure we—"

"If we don't eat them, Monk will and he's fat enough as it is," Mai said with a laugh. "We're doing him a favour really, because he might be proposing to his girlfriend and he'll want to look good for the wedding photos. Oliver, milk or sugar?"

"Neither."

Mai retrieved the milk and sugar and made up Gene's tea.

"Thank you," he said and dunked a digestive into the milky liquid.

"Great, okay," Mai said, sitting down. She pulled out her own homework. "So I'm really struggling with trigonometry…"

She opened up her workbook and found the homework sheet. Oliver took it from her and read through the questions. He then started to explain. Mai asked questions as he went on and before long, she felt comfortable enough to try some questions alone.

The three teens worked in relative silence for almost an hour, bar Mai's occasional question, when the front door burst open and Monk strode in. Both twins jumped out of their skins, but Mai just rolled her eyes.

"Madoka is out of her mind," he said, by way of a greeting. "She was talking about opera! Opera! We have some very capable singers, but no one is an opera singer…"

Monk leaned over Mai and grabbed the last biscuit, dunked it in her tea and shoved it into his mouth whole.

"Eww, your tea is cold."

"I've been working hard," Mai complained. "Haven't I?"

She looked around to the twins for confirmation. Oliver didn't move. Gene nodded meekly.

"See!"

"Of course you have," Monk said, ruffling her hair.

"Get off!"

"Have you started dinner?" he asked, in a gentler tone.

"Not yet," she glanced at her phone, "Crap is that the time, I'll get started on that."

She shut her workbook and jumped up.

"You guys okay here?" she asked. "I won't be long unless you want to help?"

"Do you want help?" Gene asked.

Mai shrugged.

"Only if you're bored of homework. Up to you."

She headed into the kitchen.

"Okay, well I'm going to go and change," Monk said, "And then I'll keep out of your hair. Shout if you need me."

"Thanks, old man," Mai called. "Wait, is Ayako—"

"Nah, another late shift."

"Okay."

The twins shared a look, now alone in the living space.

"Should we—"

"I need to finish this," Oliver muttered. "But go ahead, if you want."

Gene followed after Mai. Oliver watched them go, then picked up the empty biscuit packet and poured the crumbs into his mouth. Once sure there were none left, he returned to his homework.

In the kitchen, Mai was finding all the ingredients from the fridge.

"Are you my sous chef then?" she asked.

"If you want me to."

"Great, can you put the kettle on?"

Gene complied.

"So do you know which part you want for the pantomime?" Mai asked as she began chopping up bacon and onion. "Can you get the pasta out of that cupboard above the sink? Thanks."

Gene got the pasta down before answering.

"Um, I don't know really. Yasuhara suggested we be the dames, but…"

"You don't want to?"

Gene shrugged.

"I was tempted by Buttons," he said.

"Not the Prince?"

"Surely John gets the prince? He's so sweet and it's his last year so…"

"He would do it well," Mai agreed. "You'd make a good Buttons."

"You want to be Cinderella?"

"Miss Mori wants me to be her and… Well I'm not going to say no. But I think one or two of the older girls are less enthusiastic about me playing that role..."

"Yeah, but she's got a singing part, and some of them really can't sing."

"Yeah, but I can't really say that to them…" Mai mumbled. "Okay, can you stir that for me…"

She put the pasta on to cook and started on the cheese sauce.

When everything was about halfway cooked, Oliver joined them.

"Can I assist?"

"Um," Mai looked around. "Yeah, can you stir this sauce for me? Add some more milk if it gets too thick. Don't worry if you put too much in though, it'll thicken up again soon enough. I'm going to just wash up some things…"

She handed the spoon over with a smile.

"I like having two helpers," she mumbled, "it makes everything much easier. Maybe I'll have to invite you around again."

"I wouldn't mind," Gene said in a quiet voice.

Oliver glared at him, unseen by Mai as she was facing the sink behind them.

"Maybe I will then," she said. "I mean, it makes sense, we're all working together on the Panto. Can you test the pasta, Gene?"

"Huh?"

"Just grab a fork from the drawer next to you and taste a bit, it should be done…"

Gene found a fork, stabbed a piece of pasta and ate it.

"It's soft?" he said.

"Great, okay, where is the colander?" she mumbled and began searching through the cupboards. "Found it!"

She dumped the colander in the sink and bustled to the hob. She grabbed the pan and emptied its contents into the colander to drain before tipping them back into the pan.

"Okay, pour everything into that pan and stir," she said as she dumped the pan back on the hob.

The twins did as they were told. Mai retrieved four pasta bowls from a cupboard.

"Monk! Food's ready!" she yelled, causing Gene to flinch. "Oh, sorry Gene, didn't mean to make you jump there."

"It's fine," he insisted. "Just wasn't expecting it."

"Right," Mai took the wooden spoon from Oliver and gave the pasta - bacon - cheese sauce mix a final stir, "that smells so good! We're amazing cooks. Okay, help yourself."

She offered the spoon to Gene, who took it and blinked.

He spooned out two small scoops into his bowl and then handed the spoon back.

"Seriously?" Mai asked, concerned. "Is that all you want?"

He nodded. She passed the spoon to Oliver. He copied Gene.

"It's no wonder you two are so skinny," she muttered, "you don't eat anything. Well if you're still hungry, you can always come back for seconds."

She measured out two more bowls full for herself and Monk and carried them through to the table. The twins followed and sat down.

"Monk! We're starting without you!" she yelled towards the stairs.

Gene flinched again. This time, Mai did not notice.

"Tuck in," she insisted. "There's no point waiting for him, our food will go cold."

She dug in. The twins copied. Monk joined them a moment later.

"Starting without me you cheeky gits," he muttered.

Both twins stopped eating, eyes wide. Mai noticed this and frowned.

"He's just joking. Ignore him. He thinks he's funny."

"I am hilarious," Monk insisted. "You two aren't usually this quiet."

"Sorry," Oliver said quickly. "I'm tired."

"I'd be tired too," Mai said, "if I had to put up with his jokes all day…" She nodded her head towards Monk and he scowled at her.

"I'd ground you for cheek if you hadn't just made such an excellent dinner," he said, though his smile said otherwise. "Do you want seconds, boys?"

Mai looked around to see that the twins had both already finished.

"Blimey!"

"Sorry," Gene squeaked.

"Don't be sorry," Mai said. "Go and help yourself to seconds. Seriously, it'll go to waste otherwise."

Oliver and Gene shared a look, then both got up and headed to the kitchen. Monk watched them go with a frown.

"I'm concerned about them," he said in a low voice.

"Why?" Mai asked.

"I'll tell you later…"

The twins returned with heaped bowls.

"That's more like it," Mai muttered. "Really, you two don't need to be so polite here."

"Is there any left?" Monk asked.

Gene nodded.

They ate in silence and Monk offered to wash up.

"Do you want to just hang out now? Or…?" Mai let the question trail off.

"What's the time?" Oliver asked.

"Just gone eight."

Oliver glanced at Gene, who nodded.

"We should probably head back."

"Do you want a lift?" Monk's voice said from the kitchen doorway. "It's dark out, I can't let you walk home like this."

"It's fine," Oliver insisted.

"No, it's not. Mai dragged you out here, let me—"

"I didn't drag them!" Mai protested. "I asked for help! Like you told me to!"

"Let me take you home," Monk said. "I'll go grab my jacket while you get your stuff together."

The twins packed their school books up and put their shoes on.

"I'm sorry about him. He means well, really," Mai said. "Do you want me to come too? To make it less weird? I know it's weird because he's a teacher but—"

"It's fine," Oliver said. "Thank you for inviting us."

"Yeah, the food was good," Gene added with a smile.

Monk appeared with his car keys in hand.

"Where am I dropping you boys off then?"

"The petrol station on Eldritch road," Oliver said. "We live just down the road from it, but it's the easiest place to pull up."

"Great."

Mai waved as they left.

The twins sat in silence in the back of the car. Monk didn't press them for conversation during the journey, but as he pulled up beside the petrol station, he spoke.

"Oliver, Gene, I want you to know that if there is any trouble at home or at school, that you can talk to me, okay?"

"We're fine, Mr Takigawa," Oliver said. "Thank you for the lift."

The twins got out and walked away from the car. They waited until Monk had turned around and driven away before speaking.

"I'm sorry," Gene mumbled. "I kept flinching. I couldn't—"

"It's fine. We'll just have to be careful for a week or two."

"The food was nice though," Gene said.

"Yeah."

Oliver pulled his key out of pocket and let them into the house.

Jeffery was waiting for them.

"Where have you been?" he asked from the sofa, beer in hand.

His eyes were looking at the TV, but his attention was on his two sons.

"Studying," Oliver said.

"The library shut two hours ago."

"At a friend's house, they invited us around."

"Oh… They did, did they? Shut the door." Gene shut the door. "I asked you a question!"

"Yes, they did," Oliver said.

Jeffery sighed heavily and stood up, turning the TV off as he did so.

"Did they feed you?"

"Yes."

Their father sighed again.

"So you've been inconveniencing other people and begging food off them," he summarised.

"No, she invite—" Gene tried to defend.

"She? It was a girl?" Jeffery scoffed. "Should have known you were out with some slut."

"She's not a slut!" Gene shouted.

"Don't you speak back to me, boy!"

Jeffery raised his hand and brought it down with his full weight behind it. Oliver stepped in front of Gene and was sent toppling to the floor. Gene bent down to help his brother up.

"Oh go and get some slut pregnant and see if I care. Get out of my sight."

Jeffery turned around and started towards the kitchen. The two brothers darted up the stairs to their bedroom. Gene shut the door behind them and wedged it shut with a doorstop that he'd stolen from school.

"Are you okay?" he hissed.

Oliver took a seat on his bed and cradled his head in his hands. Gene gently lifted Oliver's head up and took stock of the damage.

"It's going to bruise."

"No shit."

"I'm sorry, it's my fault, I shouldn't have—"

"It's fine."

"We shouldn't go there again."

"Agreed."

Gene sat down beside his brother.

"Less than two years," he mumbled. "Then we'll be free."

"I slipped in the shower," Oliver said. "Okay?"

"Your hair is getting greasy though, you'll need to wash it in the morning to make that believable."

"I'll rinse it in the sink," Oliver said. "He's out early on Thursdays, it should be fine."

"But the shampoo—"

"I stole some soap from school. I'll use that."

"You did?"

Oliver opened his rucksack and pulled out a half used bottle of hand soap.

"The school cleaners don't care enough to notice this stuff," he said. He untucked the sheet on his bed and pulled apart a rip in the broken mattress to put the bottle inside. He then replaced the sheet.

"We've got no lunch for tomorrow."

"I've got some more cereal bars in my locker."

"Where do you get them from?"

"Lin. Miss Mori makes his lunches and she includes them because she thinks they're healthy but he hates them, so he gives them to me."

"And he doesn't suspect?" Gene asked.

"No."

Gene looked at the door.

"Do you think I can go to the toi—"

"No," Oliver said. "He's been drinking." Gene's shoulders sagged. "I've got a bottle somewhere…"

* * *

 **Author's note: I'm so close to finishing this damn regency story I started ages ago but Oliver and Mai just WON'T GET MARRIED ALREADY FFS. It's driving me nuts. This is gonna get updated every Sunday I think. I'm gonna try and get the first chapter of Promises and Projects out on Tues/Wed? Maybe? Please review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

"Shit, what happened to you?"

Oliver looked up to see Mai standing over him. He was sat in the canteen, reading and eating a cereal bar.

"I fell in the shower."

"Damn, that is one ugly bruise," she said as she took a seat. "And that's certainly not going to help…"

"Help?"

"Mo— Mr Takigawa is convinced something's wrong at home," Mai said. "He thinks you're being abused or something. You're not, are you?"

"No, of course not," Oliver replied quickly. "Why would he think that?"

"I think it was just because you were really quiet last night. He's a bit of a worrywart," Mai said, chewing her lip. "You would say if something was wrong, right?"

"Of course," Oliver lied.

Mai smiled.

"Thanks again for your help last night, I really appreciated it. I think I actually get trig now…"

"Good."

"Did you forget your lunch again?" Mai asked, nodding towards the cereal bar.

"Uh, yeah. The shower incident sort of screwed my morning over."

Mai rooted around in her own bag and found a squished sandwich.

"I made one too many this morning, so have this. It'll go stale otherwise." She pressed it into his hands. "I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks again, Oliver."

She darted away.

Oliver opened the sandwich; cheese and ham. Part of him knew he should save some for his brother, but—

"Girlfriend making your lunch because you're too poor to buy your own?" a sneering voice asked.

Oliver did not need to look up to know who it was. He rewrapped the sandwich, shoved it into his bag and stood up. But he was surrounded.

"Not so fast, pretty boy," Malcolm said. "We just want to chat, don't we boys?"

Snickers from the group of boys standing behind Malcolm echoed in Oliver's ears.

"I—"

"Griffiths, in my office, now."

Oliver spun around to see his saviour. But when he did, he regretted it. Between Malcolm and his mates, or Dr Davis, he knew who he would rather pick. He let his head hang as he pushed through the group of boys to follow after Dr Davis.

At least she wouldn't hit him.

The office door closed behind him and she gestured towards a seat on the other side of her desk.

"Sit."

He sat.

"I expect you know why you're in here."

"No, I don't, Dr Davis."

She narrowed her eyes at him as if trying to work out if he was lying or not.

"A video of you has appeared on the social media, has it not?"

Oliver nodded.

"In said video, you assaulted one of my students, on school grounds, no less."

Dr Davis was head of year 11, Mai's year.

"I did not assault her, I—"

"Had she given you express permission to touch her like that?" Dr Davis pressed.

"Well—"

"And even if she had, acting in such a manner on school grounds is unacceptable. You give me no choice but to—"

"That's not fair," Oliver spat. "I had to do it. If... I had to do it." He balls his fists up and only just refrained from slamming on down on the desk.

"What do you mean?" Dr Davis asked with a frown. "What do you mean, you had to do it?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Oliver, if someone—"

"It doesn't matter!"

Oliver stood up.

"Sit down, Mr Griffiths."

Before Oliver could do or say anything, Mai burst into the office.

"It's my fault, Dr Davis! Don't blame Oliver. It was a stupid dare and I just wanted it done with so I wouldn't be late for Drama Club so I told him just to do it there. It's not his fault."

Dr Davis pursed her lips.

"Well…"

"Please don't put him in detention because I was thoughtless," Mai went on. "Please? It's not worth ruining his record over!"

"Fine. But I don't want to see any more of that behaviour. I expected better from both of you. Now, get out of my office."

Mai led the way out and down the corridor. Oliver kept pace with her until they reached the library.

"You lied to her."

"Jeesh, yeah, I did," Mai said. "I got you out of trouble though."

"How did you know I was in there?"

"Masako. She told me Dr Davis was looking for the pair of us… I guessed the rest. Dr Davis means well but... "

"Right."

Mai bit her lip.

"Why did you agree to that dare?" she asked. "Was it because you li—"

"It was because he would have been a nuisance if I had not," Oliver said. "I have to go."

Mai frowned, watching him stride away. She noticed that his trousers were an inch too short, despite the fact that the hems had definitely been let down.

"You look bummed out," Masako's voice said from behind her. "Is it because he doesn't like you?"

"No, it's not. I… I think something's wrong with him."

"I could have told you that, he's a bit of a weirdo."

"No, not that sort of wrong." Mai bit her lip again. "I think he's being bullied and he's not asking for help."

"Why would he?"

"Ask for help?" Mai clarified, Masako nodded. "To make it stop?"

"I was bullied at my last school, Mai, and telling teachers doesn't stop it. It just makes the bullies sneakier. Is that why he's got a black eye?"

"No, he fell in the shower."

"Sure."

Mai frowned around at her friend.

"You think it's something else?" she asked. "You think someone hit him?"

"Well, you're the one that thinks he's being bullied…"

* * *

"I think that went okay, don't you?" Gene asked as they walked back home after the auditions.

"You did fine."

"I'm glad it's not a singing role."

"So are we all," Oliver muttered.

"Oi." Gene scowled at his twin. "I love that Masako tried out for the Prince though. She wants to make it gay so much."

"Yes."

"It'd be nice to have some representation…"

As they neared the house, the conversation died. Jeffery's car was already in the driveway. Oliver swallowed and opened the front door. Once again, their father was sat on the sofa, drinking a beer. They crept in and started straight towards the stairs.

"Don't greet your father then," a bitter voice said from the sofa.

The twins turned.

"Good evening, Dad," Gene said.

Jeffery grunted. They continued on their way. They got no further than the entrance to their room when the doorbell rang. Both twins froze.

"Who?"

"I don't know."

Their father's voice boomed from below.

"Who on earth is disturbing us at this time of night? Don't they know I want to watch the darts?"

The twins stayed as still as they could, straining to listen.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Mai. I'm friends with Oliver and Gene, did I get the wrong house?"

Oliver swore.

"Boys!"

They scrambled out of their room and down the stairs.

"Yes?" Oliver said as they reached the ground floor.

Jeffery gestured to Mai, who was still stood just outside.

"Gene forgot his script? I offered to bring it over," she explained, rifling through her bag.

She produced a slightly dog-eared script and held it out.

"Take it, boy."

Gene took it.

"Thank you."

"Is that all?" Jeffery asked.

"Yes," Mai said with a smile, "Sorry to disturb you. Have a good weekend!"

She waved at the twins and walked away. Jeffery slammed the door shut. He stood with his hand leaning against the wall and stared down at his sons.

"So which one of you little shits wants to fuck that slut then, hmm? She seemed mighty friendly with you both."

"Dad, she's—"

"Me," Oliver cut Gene off and stepped forward to shield his brother.

"I should have known it was you," Jeffery spat. "Do you want to know what happens when girls like her flutter their little eyelashes at you? Hmm?"

"I—"

"They fuck you and get pregnant and then leave you with two little shits of your own to look after. And then those little shits leech off of you for the rest of your life."

Jeffery took hold of Oliver's shirt.

"Dad—"

"Do you think her pretty little eyelashes and fifteen seconds is worth ruining your life for, hmm? Do you?"

He pointed an accusatory finger right into Oliver's face.

"Answer me," he growled.

"No."

"Good." He released Oliver's shirt and Oliver stumbled backwards a step. "Now I'm going to go and watch the rest of the darts. And if I hear another peep out of either of you. Or if I see that slut anywhere near here again. You'll have me to answer to. Got it?"

"Yes."

Jeffery narrowed his eyes at Oliver for a moment, then turned away. Oliver relaxed—

Thwack.

Jeffery had spun back around and back fisted Oliver in the neck.

"Get out of my sight."

Gene all but dragged Oliver up the stairs. He deposited his brother on the lower bunk, then wedged the door shut.

"Noll, you okay? Can you hear me?"

Oliver groaned.

"Can you breathe?"

Oliver managed to nod. He coughed weakly and tried to curl up. Gene, looking downcast, removed Oliver's shoes, then his own, and placed them by the bed. He then sat down beside his brother and pulled the duvet over them both.

"It's going to be okay, Noll. Less than two years now. Just think about that. In two years we'll be in university and away from him, okay? Just think about that. And then I'll become a doctor and you'll be an even bigger physics nerd and he'll be far away."

Oliver hummed, though it sounded a little more like a whine.

"And maybe we'll get a dog, and I'll train him to bark at strangers and people we don't like… Then we'll always know…"

A single tear leaked from Oliver's eyes. It dripped down onto the bed sheets.

"And Yasuhara wants to be a lawyer, you know, so maybe I'll keep him around. I'm sure he'll be able to keep him away…"

"You like him," Oliver croaked.

"What? No—"

"Gene, please don't lie…"

Gene looked down at his brother.

"Yeah… Yeah, I do. He… He's really nice and he's funny and he makes me laugh and he said I was cute and… And he asked me on a date. We haven't picked a time or anything but..."

Gene shrugged.

"Someone saw you," Oliver whispered. "Behind the bike sheds."

Unseen by his brother, Gene's cheeks flared scarlet.

"I— We— He kissed me."

Oliver coughed.

"Kissing behind the bike sheds is so cliche," he managed to say. "Just be careful."

"Careful? Why?"

"You could get in trouble."

"Why would I get in trouble?" Gene asked.

"Davis pulled me in—" Cough. "She saw that video. Said I assulted—" Cough. "Assaulted Mai."

"Oh shit," Gene muttered. "What happened?"

"Mai burst in—" Cough. "She lied and got me out of there."

"Damn…"

"So be careful."

Gene nodded, more to himself than to Oliver, who was still facing the other way. He bit his lip again, picking at a bit of loose skin.

"Noll?"

"Hmm?"

"Who saw me and Yasuhara behind the sheds?"

Oliver coughed again.

"Malcolm."

"Noll?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did he dare you to kiss Mai?"

Oliver did not respond for almost a minute, to the point where Gene wondered if he'd heard the question at all.

"It wasn't a dare."

"What?"

"Do you know who Stacy is? From Mai's year?"

Gene frowned.

"The blonde one? Who always wears the tiny skirts?"

"Yeah."

"Malcolm—" Cough. "Said she had a crush on me. So he wanted me to kiss Mai to prove I didn't like Stacy. He likes Stacy."

"Oh… So you did it to be nice to him?"

Oliver shook his head.

"So why?" Gene came to the realisation of the truth as he spoke. "Because he saw me and Yasuhara? But no one at school would care that I like boys?"

"It wasn't people at school I was worried about…"

An icy feeling trickled down Gene's spine.

"Oh… I'm sorry, Noll."

"It's fine."

"But—"

"You're my brother, Gene."

"But—"

"But nothing."

* * *

"Ah! Mr Yasuhara, you're here early," Monk said after opening the front door.

"Mai said it was important," Yasuhara replied.

"Of course, why else would you be up before nine AM at the weekend…"

Monk stepped aside to let Yasuhara in.

"Mai! Yasuhara's here!" he called as he shut the door.

"I'm not even dressed yet!" Mai shouted back. "Why is he so early?"

Yasuhara and Monk walked to the bottom of the stairs to see Mai standing in a towel at the top of them.

"Because you said to get here ASAP?" Yasuhara said weakly.

"Eugh, okay, give me two minutes."

Mai raced off.

"Would you like a drink?" Monk asked Yasuhara. "I was going to make a pot of tea, but we've got coffee if you prefer."

"Coffee would be great, thank you Mr Takigawa."

Mai appeared three minutes later, towelling her hair dry.

"Okay, so we don't have any time to lose—"

"What are you two up to today then?" Monk asked as he handed out mugs of hot drinks. "Homework, I hope?"

"We're going to see Gene and Oliver."

"We are?" Yasuhara asked.

"Yes, we are." Mai sent her friend a pointed look.

"Okay, well you four have fun then, I've got a mountain of marking to do, so shout if you need anything." Monk took his mug and disappeared to find his marking.

"I've got travel mugs somewhere," Mai muttered. "Come with me…"

She rooted around in the kitchen cupboards for so long that by the time she found the travel mugs, Yasuhara had finished his coffee.

"Do you want another?" Mai offered.

"Nah, I'll need to pee all day otherwise."

"Eww."

Mai poured her tea into the travel mug and took a sip.

"Double eww, this is cold. Never mind." She poured it down the sink. "Let's go!"

They left and started the walk to the twins' house.

"You never really explained why we're going?"

Mai took a deep breath and began her explanation.

"Okay so last week I asked Oliver for help with Maths and he and Gene came over and helped me. But Gene was super jumpy, right? And also, have you ever seen either of them eat a proper lunch at school?"

"Yeah, I saw Oliver eating sandwiches last… Thursday? Maybe?"

"Yeah, because I gave them to him," Mai said.

"So Gene is a bit jumpy and they forget their lunches a lot? What's your point?"

"Oliver came to school with a black eye—"

"He slipped in the shower."

"And they wear clothes that are too small?"

"So they aren't that well off?" Yasuhara suggested.

"And when I dropped off Gene's script yesterday, after the door was slammed in my face, I heard a lot of yelling."

Yasuhara began to frown.

"I mean maybe it's just a coincidence," Mai went on, "but Monk was concerned about them too. I just want to check it out. Monk can't do anything without starting a formal investigation with social services or something and that might be more trouble for Oliver and Gene… He said he'd talk to the Child Protection person at the school on Monday. We talked about it a bit last night, but… I don't know. If I'm wrong then I will buy you coffee until the end of the term. But—"

"I'll come with you," Yasuhara said. "But I don't know Mai… Both of them are kind of weird you know…"

"If by weird you mean basically autistic then yeah, I agree with you, but they can be weird and abused. Their mum died around when mine did apparently and like, what if their dad is really shit at being a dad? And he's been treating them bad ever since that happened?"

Yasuhara threw his hands up in mock defeat.

"I'm coming with you. But if this turns out to be nothing, I will hold you to that coffee thing."

* * *

 **Author's note: IT IS MY BIRTHDAY I AM OLD SO YOU HAVE TO BE NICE AND SEND ME ALL THE REVIEWWSSSSSSSSS!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: BIG WARNING THIS CHAPTER IS HORRIBLE AND FULL OF NASTY HORRIBLE ABUSE AND DON'T READ IT IF THAT IS GOING TO UPSET YOU. It's a perfectly reasonable thing to do to not read this when it's horrible, probably the second most horrible thing I've ever written. So take care of yourself!**

* * *

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Who's that?" Oliver hissed from under the duvet.

"I have no idea, Dad went out for more beer," Gene hissed back. "Should I answer it?"

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"I don't know."

"I'll go answer it," Gene decided.

He slipped out of bed and headed downstairs. He peered through the peephole and swore before opening the door.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We came to see you," Mai replied brightly. "Where's Oliver?"

"Now's really not a good time. Oliver's still asleep. Our Dad is out and—"

"I really need to talk to Oliver," Mai interrupted. "Can I come in? I'll be super quick, I promise!"

She did not wait for an answer, but darted between Gene's arm and the door.

"Mai! Wait! No!" Gene reached a hand after Mai as if to try and catch her, but she had already disappeared up the stairs.

"I'm sorry about this," Yasuhara said. "She dragged me up at the crack of dawn and—"

"You can't be here!" Gene raked his hands through his hair, a look of panic spreading across his face. "Dad's going to be back any minute and you can't be here!"

He looked from Yasuhara to the base of the stairs.

"Gene, are you—"

"Okay, you can come in for one minute but only until I get Mai back down here and then you both have to leave, okay? Please, now really isn't a good time."

Yasuhara gingerly stepped inside and Gene shut the door behind him.

"Wait right there, don't move, okay?"

Gene pointed to the spot on the floor where Yasuhara's feet stood.

"I promise I won't," Yasuhara said hastily.

Gene gave him one last look, then ran up the stairs after Mai. She was standing in his bedroom doorway, mouth open and staring at Oliver.

"Mai, you've got to leave!" he begged. "Dad's going to be back any minute and—"

Mai rounded on Gene.

"I want an explanation as to why Oliver has a giant purple bruise on his neck!" she demanded. "What on earth happened? And don't tell me he slipped in the shower."

"Mai, it's nothing," Oliver's voice said from within the room. "Just get out of here. Stop sticking your nose in where it's not wanted."

"Mai, please, I'll explain at school, just not now, okay?"

But before Mai could protest further, they heard the front door open and a booming voice shout—

"Who the fuck are you?"

Gene swore and ran back down the stairs.

"He's a friend!" Gene answered hastily. "He—"

"What the fuck is he doing in my house?" Jeffery threw down the carrier bag of beer and cross his arms over his chest.

Yasuhara, in an attempt to diffuse the situation, stuck his hand out to introduce himself.

"I'm Yasuhara, I'm Gene's boyfriend."

Jeffery's face changed from annoyance to fury.

"I don't know who you think you are, boy—"

"He's just joking Dad!" Gene said quickly.

"Shut up," Jeffery spat at Gene, before returning his attention to Yasuhara. "I don't know who you think you are, but my boy isn't some kind of cock sucking faggot. Now get out of my house."

He jabbed a finger at the door. Yasuhara's eyes widened in alarm and he shared a quick apologetic look at Gene before leaving. As soon as the door shut, Jeffery rounded on Gene.

And Gene ran.

* * *

"Mai," Oliver said in a calm, controlled voice. "I suggest you hide."

"What? Why?"

From downstairs, they heard a roar of—

"Get back here boy!"

Mai glanced around, looking for somewhere to—

"Under the bed," Oliver said. He got up and searched for something while Mai slid under the bed.

"What are you—"

"Shut up!" Oliver hissed.

Gene burst through the door and Mai could see the twins' feet as they pushed against the door.

"Let me in, boy!"

"Where's the wedge?" Gene asked.

"I couldn't—"

Mai looked around under the bed and spotted a door wedge. She threw it out so that it landed by Gene's foot. He obviously saw it, but as he bent down to put it into place, the door went flying backwards.

Mai stifled a scream. She pulled out her phone to call the police, but there was no signal.

"Dad! No! Please!"

Mai didn't know which twin was shouting. But she heard the sound of fists against skin. She opened up her camera and started filming.

Thwack.

"Stop! Please!"

One of the twins was crying.

Thwack.

She could see one pair of feet cowered in the corner.

Thwack.

The other was closer to the set she knew to be their father's.

Thwack.

Mai felt something wet on her face and realised she was crying.

Thwack.

She wiped away the tears and inched her phone forwards.

Thwack.

From what she could see on the screen, Jeffery was holding one of the twins up by the shirt and hitting him repeatedly.

Thwack.

Bile rose in Mai's throat and she swallowed it down.

Thwack.

She had done a quiz on the computers at school once with Masako.

Thwack.

She was supposed to be a Gryffindor.

Thwack.

She was supposed to be brave.

Thwack.

But she could not move.

Thwack.

She could not—

The twin that Jeffery had been holding dropped to the floor. Mai screamed as she saw a bruised bloody face land in front of her. She could not tell who it was. She wasn't even sure if they were breathing.

"Oh, you have someone else in here do you, boy?"

"No! Just me," whichever twin was still standing replied. "There's no one—"

Mai held her breath.

But Jeffery had bent down to look under the bed.

"Oh, it's your slut."

Mai pushed herself backwards as Jeffery reached out for her.

"Come out, you dumb slut. And give me that phone."

"No!" she shouted. "Go away!"

"I won't hurt you, just come out from under there and give me that phone!"

Jeffery's hand swiped at her leg. She kicked back, but in the small cramped space, she could barely manoeuvre. He grunted as her foot connected.

"You little bitch!"

He grabbed her ankle and yanked. Mai screamed and clutched at the slats of the bed frame. Jeffery had superior strength, however, and she found herself wrenched from the safety of the underneath of the bed.

Mai shoved her phone down her bra, the first place she thought of to protect it.

"Give me the phone, bitch," he snarled.

"Mai, just do it. It'll be okay."

"No!"

Mai pushed Jeffery as hard as she could and tried to run for the door. Jeffery caught her back the hair. Mai screamed again.

"Give me the phone!" he yelled in her ear.

The still standing twin jumped on Jeffery from behind, trying to pull him backwards. Jeffery roared in anger and slammed Mai into the wall before rounding on his son.

Mai found herself on the floor without a clear thought of how she got there.

"Stop…" she whimpered.

Jeffery shoved his son into the wall beside where Mai had fallen and raised his bloody fist to—

The door burst open, pushing Mai into the wall again. She cried out in pain, then in relief as she saw Monk.

"Let him go, Mr Griffiths. The police are on their way."

Mai burst into noisy tears. Jeffery let his son slide down the wall to the floor.

"This is my house—"

"And these are my students," Monk retorted. "Now leave the room. Mai, are you okay?"

"Kind of," Mai managed to reply.

Jeffery pushed past Monk.

"Mai, I need you to put them both in the recovery position, just like Ayako taught you, okay? The police are on their way, I'm going to keep an eye on Mr Griffiths."

Mai scrambled to her feet and fished her phone from her bra. She forced it into Monk's hand.

"I filmed it."

"Good girl," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a quick squeeze.

He pocketed the phone and left the room.

Mai hurried over to the bruised and bloody twin. She rolled him onto his side and checked for breathing.

"He's alive."

"Noll…" the other twin moaned from the wall. "Is he…?"

"He's alive," Mai repeated, louder. "He's breathing."

She tipped his head backwards and positioned his arms and legs so that he wouldn't move.

"I don't… I don't think Miss Mori… Will let me… Be Buttons now…" Gene gasped. "Not with… A face like this…"

"You're fine," Mai said, turning her attention to him. "You're going to be fine."

And with that, Gene passed out.

* * *

Mai did not really remember the next few hours. At some point, she found herself in a hospital with doctors asking her questions.

Did anything hurt?

Where had he hit her?

She fell asleep and woke up to find Ayako fussing over her.

"You're awake! Finally. Your friend has been outside waiting since yesterday."

"What?"

"Sit up," Ayako muttered. "There we go, easy does it. The one with glasses."

"Yasuhara? Can I see him?"

"I suppose so, as long as you eat your breakfast."

"I will!" Mai promised.

Ayako smiled and retreated. She returned a moment later with a tray of food and an anxious Yasuhara.

"What happened?" Mai asked him as soon as he had sat down. She dutifully tucked into the food after a glare from Ayako and waited for Yasuhara to tell all.

"Well you ran off upstairs, and then their dad turned up and he yelled at me because I might have said I was Gene's boyfriend. He told me to get out so I did. And it was like you said before, as soon as the door shut, I heard shouting. And I knew you were still in there. So I called your home phone and Mr Takigawa picked up and I explained and so he dropped everything and raced over."

Yasuhara paused for breath.

"We had to break the door down and he ran upstairs, shouting at me to call the police, which I did. Then he came back down with their dad and then the police turned up. Mr Takigawa showed them the video on your phone, which they took as evidence, by the way. And then the ambulance turned up and…"

Yasuhara gulped.

"You were sort of dazed, but the twins were both out cold. Oliver looked blue…"

"Where are they?" Mai asked.

Yasuhara pointed down the ward to two beds with curtains shielding them.

"Are they—"

"Dr Matsuzaki said they'll both be fine. But they're both very underweight and… Well, when Mr Takigawa explained what had happened to them, she threatened to give a piece of her mind to their dad…"

"What happened to Mr Griffiths?"

"He's still at the police station I think. Some other doctors came and took photos of the twins and stuff, all their bruises. You're going to have to give a statement."

Mai swore.

"Mai, if you hadn't made us go there… They'd still be living in that now. They'd…" Yasuhara choked on his words. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you."

"If I hadn't made us go there, neither of them would be as hurt as they are now," Mai mumbled. Tears leaked from her eyes.

"No, don't cry! Dr Matsuzaki will throw me out." Yasuhara grabbed a tissue and dabbed at Mai's face. "Besides, if I hadn't introduced myself as Gene's boyfriend…"

"You can't blame yourself."

"And you can't blame yourself either!" Yasuhara retorted.

"Why am I even here? I'm fine—"

"Mai, you have a concussion and a lot of bruises," Yasuhara objected. "They were checking you for brain damage."

"Oh…"

"Oh indeed," Ayako's voice said, she had returned with a glass of water, which she set down on Mai's bedside table. "Eat up. Once you're done, I'm going to check a few vitals and if you're up to it, the police want to speak with you."

"Okay," Mai said. "What's going to happen to the twins? Once they're better?"

"Child services will take them, most likely. Their father could not provide an alternative guardian…"

"But they'll still come back to school, right?"

"I don't know, Mai. I don't know."

"What are you even doing in this ward anyway? I thought you worked maternity."

"I did, until my future daughter got beaten up," Ayako retorted and looked away. "I might have threatened my boss into letting me care for you. I think he's scared of me."

"Everyone's scared of you," Mai joked weakly. "But I suppose we'll have to wait for the bruises to fade before the wedding though…"

Ayako frowned.

"Wedding?"

Mai's eyes widened.

"Uh. Nothing! Forget I said anything."

Yasuhara laughed.

"Mai," Ayako said warningly. "What do you mean?"

"I thought you knew! Because you said 'future daughter'!" Mai screwed up her face, then winced in pain and unscrewed it. "Monk wants to propose…"

For a moment, Mai thought she saw Ayako smile.

"Well, that idiot should hurry up then, shouldn't he? Eat up!"

Ayako stalked off to check on her other patients.

"Oops?" Mai said to Yasuhara, who only laughed.

* * *

When Mai heard that a teacher from her school had offered to take the twins in so that they didn't have to move away, she had guessed it would be Mr Lin. Had Monk had enough spare rooms, she thought he might have offered.

She had not expected Dr Davis and her husband.

Mai had not yet been released from the hospital — primarily due to Ayako's fussing — when the twins woke up. They were immediately surrounded by police and doctors, but once they had all gone away, she had been allowed to see them.

Oliver could not open one of his eyes due to the swelling and had been forced to eat through a straw. Gene was fairing a little better, but he had yet to manage to walk without getting dizzy and falling over.

"Are you serious?" Gene asked. "Dr Davis wants to take us in?"

Mai nodded.

"Yeah, apparently she and her husband were never able to have kids and well… I think she feels guilty for not realising something was wrong. Turns out, she's the school's Child Protection Officer or something." Mai shook her head. "Dr Davis has stopped so many counts of bullying at school and she's beating herself up because she didn't catch this... She wanted to see you both, but Ayako said you'd be too tired for visitors today."

"Then why are you still here?" Oliver mumbled.

"Because I'm still a patient, duh."

There was a moment of silence before Gene piped up.

"Mai, I'm… I'm sorry you had to see that."

"I'm sorry I barged in," Mai replied, unable to make eye contact with either of the twins. "I wanted to help but…"

"It's okay," Gene mumbled.

"Do you think you'll go and live with Dr Davis?" Mai asked.

Oliver looked away. Gene shrugged.

"It's better than nothing?" Mai suggested. "I know she likes cooking? She brings in cookies a lot…"

Gene smiled.

"Doesn't sound so bad…" he said in a quiet voice.

"Yasuhara wants to see you too, he feels really shitty about outing you to your dad," Mai said.

Gene nodded.

"He didn't mean any harm by it," he said. "I know that. He was just trying to be a gentleman…"

Gene tipped his head back and blinked, trying to will the tears away.

"Do you want a hug?" Mai offered.

Gene nodded, so she jumped up from her chair, ignoring the pain from her bruises and hugged him. Gene cried into her shoulder. Mai looked to Oliver.

"Do you want a hug too?" she asked.

"No. And I want you to know that I'm scowling at you."

Mai and Gene laughed.

"I'm sorry, I've made your top wet," Gene said, wiping his nose on the back of his hand.

"It's okay, it'll dry."

"Thanks, Mai."

* * *

 **Author's note: Okay so if you survived this, I'm going to upload a chapter of my other story so you can go and read that to make things better? Maybe?**


	5. Chapter 5: Epilogue

Two months later, after the final performance of the school pantomime, a group of students went out for an all you can eat world foods buffet. Half of them were still in costume, and the other half had remnants of makeup all over their faces.

Even Oliver, who had been nowhere near the stage, let alone the makeup, had a pink lipstick smudge on his cheek, courtesy of his brother.

The twins both looked healthier than they had done in a long time. Their bruises were healed and after two months of three square meals a day, they had begun to fill out a little. It had taken a little time to get to three meals a day. After so long of not having enough food, neither twin was quite used to the rich cuisine that Luella so loved to cook.

Gene was still a bit jumpy. Oliver still hoarded food. But Luella and Martin, her husband, had been kind to them. They did not raise their voices. They never initiated physical contact. They respected Oliver and Gene's personal spaces.

Luella did once get annoyed with the food hoarding but that was because Oliver hid the food and then never ate it because he was being fed properly. And so the hoarded food went mouldy. And ruined a mattress. And stank out his entire bedroom.

But other than that, things were looking up. Luella had insisted that both twins go to counselling. They had been resistant at first, but after a month or so of sessions, even Oliver had admitted that it might not have been an entire waste of time.

Mai returned to the end of the table where she was sitting with Masako, Yasuhara, Gene and Oliver with a plate heaped with food.

"There are no more dumplings," she declared. "I might have taken the last ones and also there are no coffee jellies left."

"You took those too?" Yasuhara guessed.

"Only so I could share them with you guys," Mai said, as she gave Masako and Yasuhara a jelly each. "I'm not sharing the dump— Hey!"

Oliver had reached over and stolen one of the dumplings.

"Gene, what was that phrase you shouted last time?" Oliver asked. "You snooze, you lose?"

Gene only laughed as Mai pouted at Oliver.

"You're lucky I like you," Mai muttered and she hastily shoved her remaining dumplings into her mouth so that no one else could steal them.

"Jeesh Mai, stop flirting with my brother already will you?" Gene teased.

Mai tried to rebuke this, but her mouth was too full of dumpling to make a coherant sound.

"Is she going red from blushing or not being able to breathe due to the sheer quantity of dumpling in her mouth?" Yasuhara asked.

"I think saying blushing will infuriate her more," Gene said. "So I'm going with blushing."

Mai flicked a pea from her special egg fried rice at him.

"If you two get us kicked out, I will not speak to either of you until the end of the school year," Oliver muttered.

"Yeah, children," Masako scolded. "Behave. Also, Oliver, I expect you to take Mai to a nicer place than this when you take her out on a date."

"Yeah," Yasuhara jumped in. "I think you should at least upgrade to like McDonalds or KFC…"

Mai swallowed the dumplings and gasped, "We're not going on a date!"

"We're not?" Oliver asked, eyebrow raised. "You've been pining over me for—"

"I've not been pining over you! You kissed me first!"

"That was a dare."

"You liked it!"

"Maybe I did," Oliver admitted in an offhand manner. "But as you don't want to go on a date with me, I guess that is neither here nor there…"

"I never said— I didn't mean—"

Mai was completely oblivious to the giggles of her other friends.

"I mean," Oliver went on, not looking at Mai, "I was going to suggest we go to the Christmas markets together but as you don't want to—"

"I do!" Mai huffed. "Stop teasing me! You're being mean. I let you have one of my dumplings."

"No, I stole your dumpling."

"Well then you can take me to the Christmas Markets to make up for it," Mai said, pointing at him with her chopstick.

Oliver smiled.

"I guess so then," he said.

"Do you think they'll let me get that fan down off the wall?" Gene asked loudly, pointing at some of the chinese themed decor.

"Why?" Masako asked.

"Because the sexual tension between those two is just—"

Mai flicked more food at him.

After the ensuing food fight, they were politely asked to leave.

* * *

Jeffery Griffiths was gaoled for 10 years, and a restraining order was placed on him such that he would never be allowed to be near either of his sons ever again.

* * *

 **Author's note: I am so ill right now. My dad decided to share his cold with me. Thanks dad...**


End file.
